World News in Brief: April 19

India's federal government on April 18 announced suspension of trade through Line of Control (LoC) between divided Kashmir, saying the routes were being "misused", the home ministry said.

* Malaysia summoned the US ambassador to the country to protest the country's eastern state of Sabah being listed in its Travel Advisory as an area with a high risk of kidnapping, the Malaysian Foreign Ministry said on April 18.

* Russia's Baltic Fleet forces are monitoring movements of ships of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which have entered the Baltic sea area, the Russian Defense Ministry said on April 18.

* Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez on April 17 lashed out at the US government for stepping up its trade sanctions by activating Title III of the Helms-Burton Act.

* Around 500,000 children are estimated to be affected by violence across western Libya, said UN officials on April 18, as fighting intensifies in the capital Tripoli.

* The United States will maintain Sudan's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, while it supports the African country's democratic transition, the US State Department said on April 18.

* Turkey is not just a buyer of US F-35 fighter jets but also a technology partner in the production program, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on April 18.

* Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on April 18 that his country has discussed with Turkey the launch of a financial mechanism similar to INSTEX announced recently by the EU, Tasnim news agency reported.

* In response to an invitation by the electoral commission in Malawi, the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) has deployed 28 election observers to Malawi ahead of tripartite elections slated for May 21.

* The leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un will pay a visit to Russia and meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in the second half of April, the Kremlin said on April 18.

* At least 14 people including 11 security personnel were killed when some unknown gunmen opened fire at them in Ormara area of Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province in the wee hours of on April 18 morning, senior security officials told Xinhua.

* Mexican authorities seized a small plane loaded with 429 kg of marijuana in the northwestern state of Sinaloa, the Attorney General's office (FGR) said on April 18.

* The number of initial jobless claims dropped further by 5,000 after hitting a nearly 5-decade low, signaling a very tight labor market in the United States, according to a report released by the US Labor Department on April 18.

* Mt. Aso in the southwestern Japanese prefecture of Kumamoto erupted on April 19, the weather agency in Tokyo said.

* A 6.7-magnitude earthquake rattled Hualien county in eastern Taiwan (China) at 1:01 p.m. On April 18, injuring at least 17 people, tilting two buildings in Taipei, and spooking many others across the island.

Xinhua